Wonderful World (Chapter Three: Stairs, Chairs?)

This little guy likes climbing a tree to get into his house.  He doesn't need no stinking chair.  Me, same boat?, not so much.  So when we left off, Adam and I were walking (read climbing) to his apartment and he had just pointed out their neighborhood grocery store.  As it turns out, we needed to go the grocery store, because that is where Jade was (Adam's Australian native roommate--who traded living with her four brothers to be roommates with two fewer boys, Adam and Wayne in a three bedroom apartment).  Jade had the key.  Apparently, even though there are three bedrooms, there are only two keys.  Wayne has a key and we know that he is at work at the Airport Coffee Club (where we've just had breakfast) and Jade has a key, because she was going to be going out and they didn't know what time Adam would be back from picking his Aunt up at the airport.  It makes sense to them and the apartment is affordable, so who am I to make waves.  Jade has texted Adam that she is not home, but went to the grocery store.  So we will meet her there.  Me, I was thrilled to stop at a store to buy a diet coke--it had almost been an hour.

The side of the building as we were approaching looked like a brick, non-descript building, but inside it was a big and bright and fully stocked grocery store.  Many brands were different, but otherwise it was exactly the same as America.  Except that my diet coke was $4.50 for a 500ml bottle.  The two liter was also pretty expensive and we were walking and I'd have to carry it, but I wouldn't pay $4.50 for a small one (yet).  (I probably made Adam carry it.)

So Jade wasn't at the store, but we presumed that was because I was such a slowpoke and that she was probably home again.  I used my credit card to pay, because again, I hadn't exchanged my US dollars and they really didn't want them.  Debit or credit? Pin or signature?  Can I see your ID?  There's going to be a charge for this.  I'm on vacation, of course there is.

Outside of the store Adam started up a street and I said, you live on this street (this was before I fully understood that his idea of a block and my idea of a block are two different things) and he said, no, right up here and he pointed.  So we walked (read climbed) and walked and then he turned in and said this is it.  It is a modest looking building with a nice entry way.  He buzzed up and Jade was home.  In the foyey was a large staircase.  I looked left and right.  Where's the elevator, I asked.  There isn't one, he said.  No elevator? and I looked up the stairs.  What floor are you on?  The third.  Three flights of stairs, I said.  Ok, I thought, I can do this.  It's for Adam.  So I climbed and climbed, turned a corner and climbed and climbed, turned, climbed, turned, climbed and climbed.  Finally I looked up and said how much further is it?  Each floor had two flights--it seemed a lot longer than just three floors.  Finally, we were at his door.  His apartment has the kitchen to the left as you come in the front door--more of a galley style open kitchen to the living room space.  It was a nice size, but not large.  To the right there was another staircase in the apartment.  That led to Jade's room which was a pretty separate space.  All the way to the left was a small balacony overlooking the street.  I asked to see Adam's room and it was a very small room with a mattrass and a bunch of clothes.  Where'd you get all these clothes, I asked him, since I knew that he came to Australia with only a back pack and one pair of jeans.  He said that these are all Waynes clothes too--they share.  Wayne's room was the next door and it was about the same size as Adam's room.  The last room was the bathroom, which was a pretty good size and had a washer and dryer in it.  Ok, they were third world looking contraptions, but Adam said that's where they do their laundry.  They also had a ductless heater/airconditioner.  Adam said it works really well at cooling the room down and providing heat for the apartment. 

The walls were completely white and there was nothing hung on the walls.  When I asked him, why he didn't draw something to put up, he said that they weren't allowed to make any holes in the walls to hang any pictures and the landlady does spot checks to make sure they don't.  They did have an Australian flag hanging on a string under the staircase (Adam said he found it in the garbage and brought it home) and they had a tv that looks like the tv we had when I was a kid more than 45 years ago.  I asked if it works and Adam said, yes, but they haven't hooked it up or even plugged it in.

As I took in the apartment, my exhausted self was looking desparately for someplace to sit.  There was no furniture.  If I had tried to sit on Adam's mattrass on the floor, I probably wouldn't be able to get back up.  There was one wicker and medal chair that looked one step away from trash day.  I gingerly sat down on it and it didn't break.  Adam said that's his chair, because he found it in the trash and brought it home.  He said that Wayne has a beanbag chair, Jade has a computer chair in her room and he has the wicker chair, so they all have someplace to sit.  For the whole week I bugged Adam to let me take him shopping for a chair for me to sit on at his place, but he would never let me. 

I met Jade--she was taking a break from studying for finals to make herself breakfast.  She's very nice.  I didn't see her again, because she was very busy studying the whole week. 

My next order of business was to get a glass of ice and a diet coke.  I asked Adam for some ice.  Ice?, he said, I'm not sure if we have any ice.  The look of panic that must have been on my face was probably priceless.  He opened the freezer and said, Yes, we have ice.  He proceeded to empty these two tini tiny little bitty ice trays into a very small container.  He gave me two or three little, tiny ice cubes and I said, no, I'll take all of them.  I filled the glass and poured my diet coke.  I sat on the wicker chair that still didn't break and there was a cool breeze off the balcony.  All was right with the world.

Stay tuned--if I thought ice at Adam's apartment was difficult, wait til I get back to my hotel.  They didn't have any ice machines--none.  No wireless either.  A real winner, I picked.